Fans express shock over the death of Kyle Busch ahead of the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte

Indexado: 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]We continue to cover the passing of Kyle Bush, the number 18 car, the sport in mourning uh this morning as we have heard uh that he died yesterday at the age of 41 at the young age of 41 years old and was supposed to race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in the upcoming Coca-Cola 600 this Memorial Day weekend.

[00:00:22]So, a lot of questions facing NASCAR, the community, including how do you race on? Uh joining me this morning is Doug Rice, a legend himself, the voice of Performance Racing Network. And Doug, I understand you were on uh with Fan Reaction on Sirius last night for hours uh hearing directly from from the folks out there who who loved or maybe didn't love Kyle.

[00:00:51]>> I certainly was. I did four hours on the serious NASCAR channel along with Alex Hayden and a big portion of that was just listening to fan outpour their grief sharing their stories. There was some laughs. There were a lot of tears.

[00:01:06]There were a lot of grown men calling in choked up that couldn't get the words out.

[00:01:12]>> And that's what happens when people lose their heroes and folks that they look up to and and the blink of an eye they are gone. And there was also a great deal of almost wrestling with is this real? Is this something that actually happened? We had some people say, "Please tell me that there's a mistake here." And I wish we could have.

[00:01:33]>> Yeah. I mean, we're coming into the newsroom this morning and Carlen and I were just like, "This is we this is crazy, right?" So, I mean, you've covered the sport in some of its darkest moments, uh, Dale Nhard, others. Mhm.

[00:01:49]>> So where does yesterday then I don't know not rank but in terms of of the shock you felt it's got to be up there.

[00:01:56]>> It's it's as big a rockom moment that this sport has had. It is right there.

[00:02:03]And I I don't want to rank but it's the same kind of thing that we found out when Davy Allison died in a helicopter clash crash or Alan Kowiki who also perished in a plane crash or Dale Nhard at Daytona. And in some ways, this is e equally shocking because he's 41 years old. He was going to race today at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Craftsman Truck Series race and probably win the thing cuz he won a week ago today at Dover in the truck series and got out and was the typical Kyle Bush with the bow, with his helmet on and all the things that he does normally. And I know a lot of the people that were going to go to Charlotte Motor Speedway today were going there with the expectation of seeing him win. The shock value of this, Jane, is just it's off the charts.

[00:02:50]>> Yeah, Doug. I mean, and so with the 600 still being on this weekend, um, how does the NASCAR community, drivers, the crews, the fans, we see evidence of folks coming together and to compete, but when the grief is this raw, how do you just kind of hone in and and use that?

[00:03:14]>> It it will be a subdued weekend. I don't think that can be anything but that. It is always a subdued weekend. in a way at the 600 because it's Memorial Day weekend and there's so much put into honoring the American armed forces and the troops and their sacrifices on Memorial Day. And now you tie in the death of one of the most prominent people that we had in NASCAR and Kybush just wasn't just a very successful driver who won more major series races than anybody else combining the top three series. It's also easily one of the biggest personalities. People that never watched the first lap of a stock car race were aware of Kyle Bush for a lot of reasons. He was outspoken. He was brash.

[00:04:01]>> And so there there's a lot of impact there. It it will go on. I I saw this happen when when Nhard passed 25 years ago, but it it won't be the easiest thing to do.

[00:04:13]So you've called his um races then for his entire career during part of your What is your personal memory then with all the races throughout the years? What stands out uh in your mind?

[00:04:28]>> U how tenacious he was.

[00:04:31]Uh I saw Jimmy Johnson maybe win more big races, but I saw Kyle Bush win a lot and called a lot of his wins. And Kyle was tenacious. He was as good at making the car do what he wanted to as any driver I've ever seen. I will put Pete Kyle Bush's skills up against anybody else and say, "Okay, try to beat that."

[00:04:53]That that is very memorable. And he raced without apology. He wasn't a dirty driver, but he was aggressive and he knew what he wanted to do and he got it done a great many times. I mean, he won at Charlotte. He won the Coca-Cola 600.

[00:05:08]He won everything there was to win in this sport, including two championships, except uh like so many other great drivers, he never got a Daytona 500 trophy.

[00:05:18]>> So, I guess at the end of all this, what is his legacy then in the race in the sport?

[00:05:27]>> You know, that's that's that's a great question that I asked a lot of people last night. Uh, I think his fierceness and his story arc I believe is his legacy. He came in this brash young kid from Las Vegas. That's not the typical pattern to be a successful stock car driver. Raced at Hendrickk Motorsports early in his career. Won some races there. Never had the big success. Moved over to Joe Gibbs racing and he was just a powerhouse. That's when he started winning multiple races every year and winning two championships. But he was always the black hat guy. He embraced that role. He was the guy that everybody waited to boo at driver introductions and when he won they let him know. And he told me one time, he said, I asked him, I said, "Why do you always wear your helmet when you do your victory celebration and bow on the front stretch?" and he goes, "That's the only time NASCAR fans will get rid of their beer is to throw [laughter] it at him across the catch fence." And I said, "I get it." But then something happened along the way. He went to race for Richard Childris based out of Winston Salem, which was Nhard's shop where he won all of his races and and he mellowed as a person. He became a dad uh to two children. And that changes people. and that maturation process over the last three or four years, he went from being one of NASCAR's best black hat in the wrestling world, they call them heels, villains, to beloved. And even when he won the truck race at Dova recently, the crowd there went crazy and applauded and yelled his name. And there there was an embracing of Kyle Bush and an appreciation for how good a guy that we watched race all those years. And I think that story arc to me is just simply remarkable. Yeah, agreed. Agreed to see him now um not only embracing that villainous role, but yeah, being the the loving father, a guy's guy, a woman's guy, a a kids guy, you know, the the whole gamut. For Richard Child's team now to see two of the most um legendary names uh to lose, you know, Dale Nhard and now Kyle Bush like that.

[00:07:44]Um, what is what does the team do? What do what is that garage like?

[00:07:51]>> It's got to be somber. It it had to be tough for everybody down in Welcome, North Carolina to go into that shop today saying, "Well, we know we have to go on, but their hearts may not be in it for a while." And for Richard Childers, he's a tough guy. He he is he is a rugged individual, but even for somebody like that, this is a lot to pile on. You lose arguably one of the most popular best drivers ever in Dale Nhard. And a quarter of a century later, you're going through this all again. It wasn't quite as public. Kyle did not pass away on the racetrack like Nhard did. But here it is was a a championship caliber driver who had in the last month or so his performance level had picked up and people were starting to say maybe he can make it into the chase. Maybe he can get to be playoff eligible and there was so much talk about that. I don't know. I I my heart went out last night to Richard Childers and the people there because here they go again. and going through that same grief cycle and struggle of >> why are we doing this again even though this wasn't directly related to what went on on the racetrack.

[00:09:03]>> Right. For sure. And so do they park 18 for the race? Um there was some talk with Austin taking over the seat.

[00:09:11]>> Kyle races the number eight now. He made the 18 famous for Joe Gibbs racing.

[00:09:16]Yeah, I I make the same mistake. And he's racing the eight now. No, they are going to race that car this weekend. And uh guy named Austin Hill, who is a very successful driver in the NASCAR O'Reilly series, our next to top level series, and has raced some in the Cup series, will will race that car this weekend.

[00:09:38]And Spy Motorsports will have somebody in the seven truck that Kyle Bush was supposed to race, and they're going to replace him, and those cars will stay out on the track. It's it's very difficult to shove a race team. When you do that, that affects so many layers of people and it's kind of nobody has ever said this. This is one of these unspoken things. It's sort of the code of of how NASCAR and the teams deal with this. You know, there's a little bit of that the show must go on mentality, >> right? I thinking thinking the same. Um but like you said, uh will be somber.

[00:10:18]was going to be a little bit somber anyway because it is the the Memorial Day um remembrance and when we honor our fallen members, but um with that extra um layer now with a local hero >> if and if I know the folks at Charlotte Motor Speedway that I do very well, I worked there for quite some time and and NASCAR, they will do the proper things to recognize the legacy of Kyle Bush and who he was and that it it will not go unnoticed and it will be more than just the traditional moment of silence. I think there will be a great recognition for Kyle Bush and what he did because he was impactful in this game. He he really he made his mark in so many ways that I can promise you that CMS and NASCAR will will do a proper recognition this weekend.

[00:11:12]>> All right, we will uh continue to follow that. Doug, appreciate your time this morning. Um, and a little insight and and the convo on the passing of Kyle Bush. Appreciate it.

[00:11:22]>> Thanks for having me on. It's uh it's it's nice to talk about it. It's not a pleasant subject, but it it does me personally a little bit of good to chat about it.

[00:11:31]>> For sure. For sure. And appreciate uh yeah, you just weighing in on it. Take >> Thanks for Thanks for having me.

[00:11:38]>> Of course.

[00:11:41]Doug Rice, a legendary voice and um sports and caller and uh just the man.